Udell, IA
Udell wildfire risk explained
Udell's 42 buildings earn a 69th-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — well above the national norm for wildfire risk. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Udell's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 71st percentile nationally.
Udell's building exposure, zone by zone
Most of Udell's buildings (73.8%) sit in the Indirect zone, where wind-blown embers rather than flame front are the mechanism USFS is scoring — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing are the interventions this pattern favors, more than defensible space alone.
Where Udell ranks
Compare Udell's two percentiles: 93rd within Iowa, only 69th nationally — a gap of 24 points that marks it as unusually exposed for its own state. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Udell ranks 9,671 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 31,111 by building count (1 is largest). Within Iowa alone, it ranks 70 of 1,017 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Iowa on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Udell
Udell's high rating (69th percentile) puts it among the places where the national carrier-pullback trend is most relevant — not a guarantee of a coverage problem, but a reason to shop rather than assume.
What would actually reduce this score
Because 73.8% of Udell's buildings sit in the Indirect zone, sealing the ember pathway (vents, roofing, gutters) is the intervention this page's data actually supports — see the home-hardening guide.
Where Udell's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Udell's 9,671-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Udell's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.